Pros: Thoughtful, whisks you a way to a different world, rhythmic and peaceful writing style
Cons: n/a
The Bottom Line: It is very easy, in my opinion, to get lost in a different world when reading this book: Siddhartha'a World, the world you know exists inside of you also.
baby.baby's Full Review: Hermann Hesse, Sherab Chodzin, Joachim Neugroschel...
The Plot
Important characters:
Siddhartha - a Brahmin boy, main character
Govinda - Siddhartha's friend from boyhood, a Brahmin
Kamala - woman Siddhartha falls in love with
Vasudeva - a ferry man
This is an Indian tale. Basically, a boy named Siddhartha is the son of a Brahmin Priest. He is thought to be the next great priest because he is loved by everyone and brings joy and peace to everyone else. However, Siddhartha himself is not happy or at peace.
He decides he wants to try being a Samana; Govinda follows as he wants to be like his friend. His father finally agrees telling him to come home soon whether he finds peace or not.
Siddhartha decides the Samana ways are to cyclic and he's not any closer to his ultimate goal of finding peace within himself. Although everyone thinks he could be a great Samana someday and perhaps walk on water, he decides to leave. Their next journey takes them to hear Buddha talk. Siddhartha feels very close to him, but doesn't think it is possible to find peace from teachings, it has to come from your own experiences. Govinda decides to become Buddha's follower.
He never does return to see his father because he feels it's too late and too much time has past and he has yet to find what he's searching for.
The story follows Siddhartha as he realizes he knows religion and he is trying to know "The One," but he does not know himself. He eventually meets a beautiful, rich, out of his league woman named Kamala. After getting all the material possessions he needs, including a job she helps him to get, they live for many years as most people do. Siddhartha calls them child-people. People who are after money and riches and what not to be happy.
He finally realizes that this isn't what he wanted either, he leaves without knowing everything.
He'd early come over to this town by ferry where he'd met Vesudeva. He now goes back to the water, and after some trouble and a scene where he meets Govinda, becomes reborn. He takes a ride on the ferry again where Vesudeva and he become united again. They decide to stay together and Siddhartha learns a lot from the river. He doesn't know that he will soon find something out that will not be easy for him to live with.
The book continues following his life as he becomes a great ferry man and eventually finds peace, while helping others along the way.
It was a long and hard journey for Siddhartha. In finding this peace, he learns so many things the hard way - about himself and how history repeats itself.
My feelings
Are you thinking about things too much? Asking too many questions? Looking too hard for the answers? Do you think everyone else accepts certain beliefs without questioning them like you do? After all the mistakes you've made, is it worth trying to find peace and happiness? Is there really only one right way to be at peace with yourself?
You wonder if other people feel the way you feel, if they go through similar emotions to you, similar feelings and beliefs, anything that will tie you closer to someone.
This book, with words that flow from one to the next, not only tells you of a young boy's [Siddhartha's] journey to find peace, but engages your entire body and spirit in his travels. You feel what he feels, he see what he sees, and can almost touch, smell, and taste it. He travels in his mind as well as physically. He sins, he thinks, and he almost finds Nirvana. He waits, he learns, and he realizes many things along his journey. He listens to others, but more importantly, he learns to listen to himself and to nature.
While reading this book, I completely escaped the actual world I was in. I was not so engrossed in this book merely because I had found peace and happiness with myself for a little bit, but because Siddhartha is a real-life character. He has thoughts, feelings, and experiences I myself experience, either directly or indirectly, but the meanings and messages are still there, and still matter.
I got this book for an upcoming class at college, although I had slightly read the back cover of the book, I was a little nervous about what it would hold. I didn't want anything encompassing a religion and trying to plant its seeds in me. After the first few pages of the actual story, I thought it was a version of my life, pulled and stretched here and there, but still resembling what goes on in my mind.
This book has left me with a better appreciation for not only nature (although I have always enjoyed nature), but also the people I don't trust or particularly like. I'm so glad I read this book when I did, a time when I will be around many different opinions and beliefs while still shaping my own and trying to find my own inner peace. Hesse did a great job of portraying this boy's life, be it his own or a collection of experiences, from one physical, mental, emotional, or social change that Siddhartha experienced, to the next.
This classic novel of self-discovery has inspired generations of seekers. With parallels to the enlightenment of the Buddha, Hesse's Siddhartha is the...More at HotBookSale
Siddhartha (1922) by Hermann Hesse is a deceptively simple, intense, and lyrical allegorical tale of a man in ancient India striving for enlightenment...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.